One of the greatest challenges for people with print disabilities has been the learning of, and access to, scientific information. Often, this information contains data, graphs, and equations which are represented in a highly visual manner. In an effort to make this data accessible to all individuals, the Science Access Project at Oregon State University has developed a number of new technologies that improve access to math and science for people with print disabilities. These projects include: audio representation of data graphs, the Triangle and MathPlus Toolbox programs, DotsPlus and the TIGER printer.
In the interest of creating an environment whereby students and
professionals with print disabilities can have access to scientific
information the Science Access Project at Oregon State University
is working on a number of programs and research projects.
Audio representation of data, also known as sonification [1] of
data, is a useful technique in providing quick, qualitative access
to data sets.[2] Sonification has advantages over tactile printouts
in that they require fewer resources, and are quickly and easily
produced with appropriate software and standard computers. Recent
studies [3] conducted by the authors explore the ability of students
to interpret single-valued Y vs. X graphs created from tone plots.
These graphs provide semi-quantitative non-speech auditory information
on the value and slope of the function or data in question. It
has been found that this technique shows promise as a method of
displaying graphical information.
The TRIANGLE program demonstrates a self-voicing, self-Brailling
computer application intended for access by blind people to math
and science. This program acts as a mathematical scratch pad and
permits reading, writing, and manipulating information using a
linear notation convenient for both voice and Braille. The main
features of Triangle include a text field, a table viewer, a graphing
calculator, and an audio/tactile figure viewer. The text field
allows for several independent editor text buffers with the ability
to display and voice mathematical symbols. The table viewer allows
easy access and display of elements in a table by moving from
one cell to another. The graphing calculator can calculate mathematical
functions and display data in a graphing window. The displayed
graph allows for audio representation of the data for full access.
Also, columns of data from a table can be plotted with the graphing
calculator. The audio/tactile figure viewer provides voiced labeling
of items in a previously constructed and annotated picture. The
image is printed on a Braille printer and then placed on a touch
sensitive device. The Triangle program is available in both Windows
95, and DOS versions.
The MathPlus Toolbox is a fully-accessible computer application
intended primarily for teaching arithmetic and lower level math
to children with learning or visual disabilities. It is a self-voicing
program that provides work areas in counting, addition, subtraction,
multiplication and fractions. It also includes a calculator and
the ability for teachers to construct instructional lesson scripts
that students can follow and work through.
DotsPlus is a device-independent typeface developed for blind
readers that intends to encompass a large set of symbols in addition
to standard braille. While computer technology has made it possible,
often quite straightforward and inexpensive, to make words accessible
to blind people,[4] making anything except words accessible remains
a formidable challenge. Math equations, and figures such as maps,
graphs, drawings, and charts that contain both graphics and characters
(particularly those such as plus or equals that have no representation
in standard literary braille) at unpredictable places pose a great
challenge. [5,6] Some are almost impossible to make accessible
to blind readers.
The DotsPlus tactile fonts [7-9] are designed to overcome these
difficulties. In DotsPlus, literary braille symbols are used where
possible, along with the raised representations of symbols not
normally encompassed by braille, such as many mathematics and
punctuation symbols, so the reader does not need to be familiar
with math braille or computer braille codes. A one-page "cheat
sheet" of the most common DotsPlus symbols contains enough
information for a literary braille reader to be able to read almost
anything in DotsPlus. Standard computer applications may be used,
and little special training is needed by the person preparing
a DotsPlus document.
The TactIle Graphics EmbosseR (TIGER) is a high resolution (20
d.p.i.) Braille printer capable of embossing text and graphics
from standard Windows 95 computer applications. It offers unparalleled
ease of use and functionality in that it can print files which
contain both text and graphics directly from the applications
from which one would normally print a document.
In addition to printing standard Braille fonts, the TIGER has
been designed to print DotsPlus without difficulty. A document
can be easily printed from Word, WordPerfect, or any other application
that allows for font selection. The text is first formatted with
either a six or eight dot version of the DotsPlus Courrier or
Symbol fonts. These fonts contain the standard print characters,
but the width of each character is set for proper layout when
embossed as DotsPlus. The user then selects the print option from
the word processor, chooses the Tiger printer from the list of
available printers, and the TIGER embosses the DotsPlus page.
Any vector graphic elements in the page are automatically embossed.
There is no difficulty in the combination of text and graphics
other than layout considerations.
This research was supported in part by the National Science Foundation
under grants HRD9452881 and HRD9353094.